Sorry to bring this one up again but i had a few incidents yesterday that i wanted to clear up for my own mind.

During a quarter time White asks me to look at Blue Players stick as they think the strings are too long. I oblige and check the stick (clearly just out the packet in the hands of a fresher), i ask the captain to sort this out which he does and double checks with me before play starts and it is fine. My call was no foul as it was during a break and was almost an eqipment call for safety (as these strings were very long)?

next there was almost a snipe back from the Blue team asking me to check the string of a White player. This was while the ball was dead and after a quick check i asked the player just to tie the one string, he subbed himself and came back on once sorted, none of this effected game time as the ball had gone for miles off the back line! Again i called no foul as it was all very friendly in the asking and acceptance but by the rules looking back i should have called a technical?

buckers_the_great wrote:Sorry to bring this one up again but i had a few incidents yesterday that i wanted to clear up for my own mind.

During a quarter time White asks me to look at Blue Players stick as they think the strings are too long. I oblige and check the stick (clearly just out the packet in the hands of a fresher), i ask the captain to sort this out which he does and double checks with me before play starts and it is fine. My call was no foul as it was during a break and was almost an eqipment call for safety (as these strings were very long)?

next there was almost a snipe back from the Blue team asking me to check the string of a White player. This was while the ball was dead and after a quick check i asked the player just to tie the one string, he subbed himself and came back on once sorted, none of this effected game time as the ball had gone for miles off the back line! Again i called no foul as it was all very friendly in the asking and acceptance but by the rules looking back i should have called a technical?

I cant comment on whether you followed the letter of the law buckers, but, as one of the white players, i can say that we were not trying to gain any kind of advantage in terms of having a technical called against the blue team, merely just pointing out that the players shooters were ridiculously long. In that respect id say you made the right calling by keeping it to just a quite word with the player concerned.

To check a stick, the play must be dead, so between quarters would qualify.

The stick check must be called by the head coach. So in the absence of a head coach his powers would devolve to the captain - Did either of those call it - If not Illegal Stick Check request. But let's assume yes.

The stick must tbe on the field of play, so if the stick was in the bench, then no stick check and you could then deem it an illegal stick check request.

You did the stick check - Did you check all aspects? Lets presume yes and the stick was illegal for long strings. - Technical Foul. Treat it like any other foul - i.e. delay of game before the quarter starts. You'd award the ball.

You then get a subsequent request. It too is illegal. So now you have simultaneous fouls - which would cancel and therefore you have a face off. What happens though if you give a personal foul for UC as the team chirps at you. Guess what - they all serve time for the infractions - Blue 30 - Red 30+1:00 and you then need to go to who has more penalty time to figure who gets the ball - Blue

To complicate it further, what happens if one of those sticks happen to score a goal at the end of the quarter and then the quarter expires. We've not had a whistle to restart Play -so guess what you now cancel the goal.

dblacklock wrote:To check a stick, the play must be dead, so between quarters would qualify.

The stick must tbe on the field of play, so if the stick was in the bench, then no stick check and you could then deem it an illegal stick check request.

Don,

Interesting can of worms you may have opened there, just to clarify:

At the end of the period, the stick check can only be called in the time between the whistle blowing and the player exiting the field to "assemble in the bench area" (as per Rule 29.4) and the time between re-taking the field and the re-start of play for the next period.

At half-time, the teams can "leave the playing field", so same applies but substitute that for the part in quotations above.

However, space considerations and a desire to be out of ear-shot of the opposition mean that teams often just congregate wherever they can and sometimes it will be wholly or partly on the pitch. In this case, any team member on the pitch can be subject to a stick check, but any team member who happens to be stood off the pitch during the team-talk is immune from the stick check until he retakes the field as described.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent Reading Wildcats Lacrosse Club, SEMLA or, indeed, anybody else......but that doesn't mean that it's not what they're all thinking!

Can you call a stick check in a golden goal situation ? Does the scoring of the goal finish the game so no chance of a stick check call. Therefore it is worth the risk to play with an illegal stick to win the game.

jasc wrote:Can you call a stick check in a golden goal situation ? Does the scoring of the goal finish the game so no chance of a stick check call. Therefore it is worth the risk to play with an illegal stick to win the game.

99% sure you can call this stick check. Otherwise it would be a complete oversight in the rule book and would need sorting right away.

What you could do is score the goal with the illegal stick then run off, throwing your kit everywhere in jubilation. Get your team mates to do the same.

Then, as it settles and the opposition calls the stick check, go and pick up a team mate's stick.

The refs on here would probably say something like: "errrrr, but you aren't allowed to throw your equipment" but how many times have you seen it?

Jedi Lax #9CEng MIMechE_______________

My views are not necessarily those of Clarendon Road Primary School Pop Lacrosse Team

jasc wrote:Can you call a stick check in a golden goal situation ? Does the scoring of the goal finish the game so no chance of a stick check call. Therefore it is worth the risk to play with an illegal stick to win the game.

99% sure you can call this stick check. Otherwise it would be a complete oversight in the rule book and would need sorting right

Nope!

AR45.1 -ruling: the game is over, the stick check is not allowed

The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent Reading Wildcats Lacrosse Club, SEMLA or, indeed, anybody else......but that doesn't mean that it's not what they're all thinking!

davidmcculloch81 wrote:Worst rule ever. Would have to catch them before they scored.

Can't call a stick check in open play! Therefore a team could cheat and go for an all or nothing play with illegal stick and hoped they scored

I think we're onto something here...

So, provided the stick isn't dangerously illegal, the ref can't halt the game, right? So a massive pocket on the end of a tiny shaft with a throat so narrow that the ball ain't coming out without being thrown out - we could even put a bit of pop lacrosse plastic across the throat of the stick I guess. That would work, right? Make sure that this guy subs onto the field of play during live action. Pass him the ball and watch him go.

Granted, if he misses or the keeper saves then he is likely to be called for stick check immediately. 3 minutes man-down is then a big risk in a golden goal situation. I'd probably try it in a summer tournament first.

I'm off to see what bits I've got in the garage...

Jedi Lax #9CEng MIMechE_______________

My views are not necessarily those of Clarendon Road Primary School Pop Lacrosse Team

Now putting myself in the shoes of the ref and wishing to uphold the spirit of the game at all times, I would probably call something like "referee's time" to tie my shoelace or something as the play unfolds. Would the defensive coach be able to call a stick check at that point?

Jedi Lax #9CEng MIMechE_______________

My views are not necessarily those of Clarendon Road Primary School Pop Lacrosse Team

Deliberately committing a technical foul to gain advantage can be unsportsmanlike conduct which is a personal foul. If a player deployed an illegal stick knowing that there could be no stick check then that would be the call.